Low Gain Servo Control During the Kohnstamm Phenomenon Reveals Dissociation Between Low-Level Control Mechanisms for Involuntary vs. Voluntary Arm Movements
The Kohnstamm phenomenon is a prolonged involuntary aftercontraction following a sustained voluntary isometric muscle contraction. The control principles of the Kohnstamm have been investigated using mechanical perturbations, but previous studies could not dissociate sensorimotor responses to pertur...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2018-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00113/full |
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| author | Jack De Havas Jack De Havas Jack De Havas Sho Ito Patrick Haggard Hiroaki Gomi |
| author_facet | Jack De Havas Jack De Havas Jack De Havas Sho Ito Patrick Haggard Hiroaki Gomi |
| author_sort | Jack De Havas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Kohnstamm phenomenon is a prolonged involuntary aftercontraction following a sustained voluntary isometric muscle contraction. The control principles of the Kohnstamm have been investigated using mechanical perturbations, but previous studies could not dissociate sensorimotor responses to perturbation from effects of gravity. We induced a horizontal, gravity-independent Kohnstamm movement around the shoulder joint, and applied resistive or assistive torques of 0.5 Nm after 20° angular displacement. A No perturbation control condition was included. Further, participants made velocity-matched voluntary movements, with or without similar perturbations, yielding a 2 × 3 factorial design. Resistive perturbations produced an increase in agonist electromyography (EMG), in both Kohnstamm and voluntary movements, while assistive perturbations produced a decrease. While overall Kohnstamm EMGs were greater than voluntary EMGs, the EMG responses to perturbation, when expressed as a percentage of unperturbed EMG activity, were significantly smaller during Kohnstamm movements than during voluntary movements. The results suggest that the Kohnstamm aftercontraction involves a central drive, coupled with low-gain servo control by a negative feedback loop between afferent input and a central motor command. The combination of strong efferent drive with low reflex gain may characterize involuntary control of postural muscles. Our results question traditional accounts involving purely reflexive mechanisms of postural maintenance. They also question existing high-gain, peripheral accounts of the Kohnstamm phenomenon, as well as accounts involving a central adaptation interacting with muscle receptors via a positive force feedback loop. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T01:37:34Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5153 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T01:37:34Z |
| publishDate | 2018-05-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-5dbb204f745b4c36a3b894ad846094712022-12-21T22:08:25ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience1662-51532018-05-011210.3389/fnbeh.2018.00113362424Low Gain Servo Control During the Kohnstamm Phenomenon Reveals Dissociation Between Low-Level Control Mechanisms for Involuntary vs. Voluntary Arm MovementsJack De Havas0Jack De Havas1Jack De Havas2Sho Ito3Patrick Haggard4Hiroaki Gomi5NTT Communication Science Laboratories, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, Atsugi, JapanInstitute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, United KingdomInternational Research Fellow of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, JapanNTT Communication Science Laboratories, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, Atsugi, JapanInstitute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, United KingdomNTT Communication Science Laboratories, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, Atsugi, JapanThe Kohnstamm phenomenon is a prolonged involuntary aftercontraction following a sustained voluntary isometric muscle contraction. The control principles of the Kohnstamm have been investigated using mechanical perturbations, but previous studies could not dissociate sensorimotor responses to perturbation from effects of gravity. We induced a horizontal, gravity-independent Kohnstamm movement around the shoulder joint, and applied resistive or assistive torques of 0.5 Nm after 20° angular displacement. A No perturbation control condition was included. Further, participants made velocity-matched voluntary movements, with or without similar perturbations, yielding a 2 × 3 factorial design. Resistive perturbations produced an increase in agonist electromyography (EMG), in both Kohnstamm and voluntary movements, while assistive perturbations produced a decrease. While overall Kohnstamm EMGs were greater than voluntary EMGs, the EMG responses to perturbation, when expressed as a percentage of unperturbed EMG activity, were significantly smaller during Kohnstamm movements than during voluntary movements. The results suggest that the Kohnstamm aftercontraction involves a central drive, coupled with low-gain servo control by a negative feedback loop between afferent input and a central motor command. The combination of strong efferent drive with low reflex gain may characterize involuntary control of postural muscles. Our results question traditional accounts involving purely reflexive mechanisms of postural maintenance. They also question existing high-gain, peripheral accounts of the Kohnstamm phenomenon, as well as accounts involving a central adaptation interacting with muscle receptors via a positive force feedback loop.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00113/fullkohnstamm phenomenoninvoluntary movementaftercontractionservo-controlvoluntary movementmuscle afferents |
| spellingShingle | Jack De Havas Jack De Havas Jack De Havas Sho Ito Patrick Haggard Hiroaki Gomi Low Gain Servo Control During the Kohnstamm Phenomenon Reveals Dissociation Between Low-Level Control Mechanisms for Involuntary vs. Voluntary Arm Movements Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience kohnstamm phenomenon involuntary movement aftercontraction servo-control voluntary movement muscle afferents |
| title | Low Gain Servo Control During the Kohnstamm Phenomenon Reveals Dissociation Between Low-Level Control Mechanisms for Involuntary vs. Voluntary Arm Movements |
| title_full | Low Gain Servo Control During the Kohnstamm Phenomenon Reveals Dissociation Between Low-Level Control Mechanisms for Involuntary vs. Voluntary Arm Movements |
| title_fullStr | Low Gain Servo Control During the Kohnstamm Phenomenon Reveals Dissociation Between Low-Level Control Mechanisms for Involuntary vs. Voluntary Arm Movements |
| title_full_unstemmed | Low Gain Servo Control During the Kohnstamm Phenomenon Reveals Dissociation Between Low-Level Control Mechanisms for Involuntary vs. Voluntary Arm Movements |
| title_short | Low Gain Servo Control During the Kohnstamm Phenomenon Reveals Dissociation Between Low-Level Control Mechanisms for Involuntary vs. Voluntary Arm Movements |
| title_sort | low gain servo control during the kohnstamm phenomenon reveals dissociation between low level control mechanisms for involuntary vs voluntary arm movements |
| topic | kohnstamm phenomenon involuntary movement aftercontraction servo-control voluntary movement muscle afferents |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00113/full |
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